Televising legislatures: Some thoughts on whether politicians are search goods

Gertrud Fremling and John Lott

Public Choice, 1988, vol. 58, issue 1, 73-78

Abstract: The evidence that televising legislative sessions helps politicians from homogeneous districts, where everyone agrees with his positions, but hurts politicians from heterogeneous districts, does not differentiate between whether politicians are search or experience goods. While evidence does exist that politicians are search goods (e.g., Lott, 1987b), it relies on the presence of the last period problem. If the conclusion that politicians are search goods is correct, it has important implications, because it contradicts the commonly held belief that it is the threat of re-election that prevents politicians from behaving opportunistically. It also indicates that there are fundamental differences between firm and political brand names. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1988

Date: 1988
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DOI: 10.1007/BF00183329

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